The flash flood watch for the New Orleans area has been extended until 9 p.m. tonight by the Slidell office of the National Weather Service, as another 1 to 2 inches of rain are expected across the area, with higher amounts possible in some locations.

National Weather ServiceRainfall extends west beyond Morgan City and south into the Gulf of Mexico

With a tornado watch over most of the New Orleans area expiring at 5 p.m., forecasters have extended the watch until midnight for Plaquemines, Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes, including Chandeleur and Breton sounds.

Radars in Slidell and Lake Charles show a broad band of rain embedded with some stronger storms still stretches to the west of Morgan City and south into the Gulf of Mexico. However, most of the intense weather has now moved into Alabama, Florida and states to the north.

A deep surface low over southwest Louisiana coastal waters is expected to move into the area this evening. The low will bring a large area of rain and a few embedded thunderstorms across the area.

Moderate to heavy rainfall is expected through the early evening hours, and will only aggravate existing flooding areas. The rain should finally end about 2 a.m. Sunday.

West winds of 10 to 15 mph this evening should increase to 15 to 25 mph after midnight.

Sunday should begin under partly cloudy skies, but clear by mid-day. Highs will struggle to reach the lower 60s, with northwest winds of 15 to 25 mph shifting to the north and dropping to 10 to 15 mph by the afternoon. Sunday night will be mostly clear with lows in the upper 40s.

Lundi Gras will see highs in the mid-60s under partly cloudy skies, turning mostly cloudy, with lows in the upper 50s, Monday night.

Mardi Gras will begin under cloudy skies with temperatures in the lower 70s, but with only a 20 percent chance of rain showers. The chance of rain increases to 40 percent Tuesday night, and to 50 percent, with a chance of thunderstorms on Wednesday.